Ski Mountaineering Revelstokehttps://skimostoke.wordpress.com
Yes, another ski blogMon, 16 Oct 2017 22:01:46 +0000enhourly1http://wordpress.com/https://secure.gravatar.com/blavatar/b58f1b247ca55d2a35ad9396294b80c5?s=96&d=https%3A%2F%2Fs2.wp.com%2Fi%2Fbuttonw-com.pngSki Mountaineering Revelstokehttps://skimostoke.wordpress.com
“Walk Skis”https://skimostoke.wordpress.com/2012/10/20/walk-skis/
https://skimostoke.wordpress.com/2012/10/20/walk-skis/#respondSun, 21 Oct 2012 07:33:51 +0000http://skimostoke.com/?p=536]]>When I talk about this time of year I don’t even bother calling them “rock skis”, I call them ” walk skis”. You spend most of your day walking over rocks and roots and grass on your skis just hoping for a dozen good pow turns on some old summer snow. Sure, the skinning on the way up is usually passable, but the decent back to the lower elevations can be downright scary. Mistakes this time of year can have big consequences.

Nonetheless, ski stoke is at an all-time high. Social media posts popping up about people getting out, and getting after it early in the fall. The usual early season haunts were likely a complete mess this morning. Stuck vehicles, boot-packing on the skintrack, and just flat-out survival skiing to get home.

I applaud those of you who are heading out fully prepared to completely and utterly destroy your skis for these early season turns. Forty-five centimetres of unconsolidated snow isn’t a base, but it’s sure as hell beats 95% of the other things most people spend their days doing. You might even be pleasantly surprised that your “walk skis” make it through to “rock skis” season. But if they don’t, it just means upgrades in your quiver

]]>https://skimostoke.wordpress.com/2012/10/20/walk-skis/feed/0skimostokeAlpine Double-Headerhttps://skimostoke.wordpress.com/2012/09/03/alpine-double-header/
https://skimostoke.wordpress.com/2012/09/03/alpine-double-header/#respondTue, 04 Sep 2012 00:07:43 +0000http://skimostoke.com/?p=532]]>A little vid that McNab put together from a climb/bike day he did this summer. Hopefully we’ll get to see alot more of these edits from him!

]]>https://skimostoke.wordpress.com/2012/09/03/alpine-double-header/feed/0skimostokeBack to it…https://skimostoke.wordpress.com/2011/12/21/back-to-it/
https://skimostoke.wordpress.com/2011/12/21/back-to-it/#respondWed, 21 Dec 2011 21:50:06 +0000http://skimostoke.com/?p=527]]>First few runs after recovering from injury and surgery, feels great to ski!
Thanks to Jules and Lusti for the great day and Jami for the great tune.

]]>https://skimostoke.wordpress.com/2011/12/21/back-to-it/feed/0skimostokeBugaboos 2011https://skimostoke.wordpress.com/2011/08/15/bugaboos-2011/
https://skimostoke.wordpress.com/2011/08/15/bugaboos-2011/#commentsMon, 15 Aug 2011 17:36:25 +0000http://skimostoke.com/?p=501]]>Some pics from our recent trip into the Bugaboos…
Click to view slideshow.]]>https://skimostoke.wordpress.com/2011/08/15/bugaboos-2011/feed/2skimostokeAdamant Lusthttps://skimostoke.wordpress.com/2011/04/14/adamant-lust/
https://skimostoke.wordpress.com/2011/04/14/adamant-lust/#commentsFri, 15 Apr 2011 04:38:55 +0000http://skimostoke.com/?p=486]]>Just got a mini-TR from our good friend Christina Lustenberger who was just up at the Great Cairn hut for a short stint. Looks like she really knocked one off with a solo ascent/descent of the prominent South Couloir on Adamant. The 55- degree line skis from the summit ridge splitting the face, straight down to the Adamant glacier below. Awesome work chica!

A photo from the days when you could skin up McGill by headlamp to descend at sunrise and make it back to town for first class. Scott D. loving the am

When I first moved to Revelstoke and started ski touring, I never really had any issues with the permit system. Likely because my days were filled with following skin tracks to areas that I knew about from the “touring Rogers Pass” mini guide of the day.

As my skills and skiing progressed through the years, I found the permit system a bit limiting. But there were still plenty of options for getting in to non-permit areas. With my work schedule I found it possible to get some early days in the mountains. Access to Bostock and Flat Creek meant you didn’t need to get a permit and could get out early. Then things changed…

The Winter Permit system allows backcountry users to enter Winter Restricted Areas that are affected by the highway avalanche program when artillery gunfire is not anticipated. This system protects the public from danger resulting from direct artillery fire, including shrapnel that can travel up to 1000 metres and the potential for sympathetic avalanche releases.

This is the bullshit that baffles brains. They have been closing permit areas regularly and NOT shooting. For sure, I understand that there may be a possibility that winds and/or precip could change the situation, but the seemingly random nature of the decisions makes it very difficult to make a plan. Parks suggests you leave a detailed itinerary with a friend, pretty hard when you don’t even find out where you’re allowed to go until 7:30am at the earliest.

A recently released publication from some of the best ski mountaineers around labels the descent off the North side of the Swiss and Rogers peaks as classics. The current permit system makes it next to impossible to take on a adventure like this while giving yourself enough time in the day to deal with the unexpected.

Permits make bagging the North line off Rogers a race against the sun

The inclusion of the 1000 m shrapnel zone has also boggled my mind. For instance, they created the Grizzly Shoulder permit to account for shrapnel from shooting at Hermit, Puff Daddy specifically. But here’s the thing, if they open Grizz Shoulder, it means they KNOW they’re not shooting Puff Daddy, so open it too? You can find multiple situations like this throughout the park.

It just leaves us with questions. While much of the “directly-facing-the-highway” stuff stays closed through and after the cycle, after a few days of stability, it usually re-opens. I informally asked Parks (through some random trash-talking on twitter) what the deal was with the MacDonald and Tupper permits being closed for 7 days recently. The response was that the “natural cycle last week kept many permit areas closed for avalanche shooting. Still winter up (there).”

Looking to the Herdman and NRC

The frustrating piece was that I was aware it was winter up there, that’s why I go up there every flippin’ weekend, AND why I was surprised that they hadn’t shot at MacDonald from the 3rd till the 9th!?!? Or, if they had shot at it, why didn’t they open it? Or if they felt they needed to shoot at something, like, say the Herdman, why would they keep Avalanche open since it’s waayyy within the 1km shrapnel radius. A raw deal for my three friends who had planned to head up there to ski a sweet line in sweet conditions.

There’s answers. And here’s what’s even better, people are getting paid to solve them. So solve them. Let’s hear what’s in the mix to fix some of these issues. Hiding behind the “transportation corridor being the number one priority” will only come back to bite you if anyone actually takes the time to read the Parks Canada mandate.

]]>https://skimostoke.wordpress.com/2011/04/11/parks-canada-beef/feed/2skimostoke366379232_75349d7424_bRogers northOLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAFoxy Ladieshttps://skimostoke.wordpress.com/2011/04/10/foxy-ladies/
https://skimostoke.wordpress.com/2011/04/10/foxy-ladies/#commentsMon, 11 Apr 2011 00:53:21 +0000http://skimostoke.com/?p=454]]>A two day window of good weather this season will get you to organize a trip in a hurry.

Dawson Amphitheatre

Audrey, Christina, Julie P and myself ventured for a few days in the Dawson Range area. We left early in the am on Thursday to get up the other side of the Asulkan Pass and set up camp. We had a quick look at the Dawson amphitheater trying to plan our next day’s objective.

Heading to Asulkan Pass

Before the descent towards Dawson

Ski down from Asulkan Pass

Friday morning we were up early, roped up on the Dawson glacier to access the south face of Fox. With a little boot pack we obtained the ridge leading us to the Witch Tower. By that point the wind was howling and the Selwyn glacier was looking a lot more broken than the picture we had of it. Committing to going up Selwyn meant committing to navigate it skiing down which didn’t appeal to any of us.

Lusti lustin' for the Comstock

More Dawson Range

Looking back towards Bonney

We then turned around with the intention of bagging Fox’s summit and skiing down its North West face. We had a great picture of it which helped us find the sneak into the rocky face. The run was amazing, the snow “powderrific” and we were all smiles skiing it.

Julie P and the Geikie

The ladies

Back at camp, we discussed our options for exiting the next morning. The weather allowed us to navigate through the Geikie glacier and we finished our trip with a ski down Forever Young.

Northwest Face of Fox (greghill.ca)

Oh ya, followed by a beer and nachos at the Village Idiot with the girls and to top it off, Jeff and I had a delicious venison burger at the Woolsey Creek Bistro. The best burger I have yet to have.

]]>https://skimostoke.wordpress.com/2011/04/10/foxy-ladies/feed/1noshowmatteauP1040501P1040481P1040482P1040483P1040491P1040492P1040494P1040508P1040510FoxWeeestWhat a dayhttps://skimostoke.wordpress.com/2011/04/05/what-a-day/
https://skimostoke.wordpress.com/2011/04/05/what-a-day/#respondTue, 05 Apr 2011 18:59:03 +0000http://skimostoke.com/?p=449]]>Its spring, well the calendar says its spring. Not too many sunny hot days yet to be had but one memorable to share. As I remember thinking it was the beginning of blue skies ever lasting long daylight hours, I now think back and tell myself: “What a day!”

When Hartley calls me up, I usually don’t want to miss out on the adventure, knowing that he’ll come up with something good. The crew started out as 2, but quickly became 6. Discussions about options in the truck ended up with the Asulkan Valley as our destination.

We made our way up the Dome for some creamy turns, and headed back up it, but this time traversing over to Sapphire Col. With lots of sunshine left in our day and Renaud never having done the Jupiter traverse, it made for an easy choice. Hartley lead the whole way, which made it easy for all of us. It was over pretty quick and we were ready for our descent down Leda. The boys slayed it down from the summit and I choose a more conservative way not having looked at the line enough for my own comfort.

We then had an amazing long powdery line down the Thorington to finally head up to our final summit, Youngs Peak. The sun was still shining and a fair amount of people were shredding the Seven Steps of Paradise, however, there was still plenty of room to put our own lines in.

The weather changed as we got to the top of Youngs Peak and without my long johns, I wasn’t about to stick around too long. The turns were still really good as all of us made it down the Mouse Trap and out of the Asulkan Valley. The cool temperatures made for a quick exit.

We were at the parking lot at 19h30, and got delayed on the highway for some snow clearance which was a great opportunity to stretch and for my boyfriend to cook dinner Love you Jeffie

]]>https://skimostoke.wordpress.com/2011/04/05/what-a-day/feed/0noshowmatteauCheopshttps://skimostoke.wordpress.com/2011/03/24/cheops-2/
https://skimostoke.wordpress.com/2011/03/24/cheops-2/#commentsFri, 25 Mar 2011 01:59:54 +0000http://skimostoke.com/?p=439]]>Anyone who travels up the Connaught Creek has probably contemplated skiing the STS chute, venturing up the “cone” or shredding Cheops 5. All north facing options staring down at you, dusting you from above or inviting you to track up the pristine slopes.

Wednesday morning we woke to the sound of rain. Pouring rain that is, that could easily discourage any of us, even the ones with the best intentions with spring objectives in mind and gritty still to get out there and get after it. But our group stuck with our initial plan and got after it.

With a few discussions and the snowy, cloudy weather not looking to lighten up any time soon, we headed for the Balu trail. Conor decisively skinning towards the “cone”, had us up there in no time, wrapping the cone as efficient as it gets. A few of us had never gone up that zone, we were surprised by the nice 1500 feet of spring-like conditions that felt like a groomed run underneath.

Tracy, Jeff, Conor and I paused at the bottom of our run, snacking and feeling damp from the wet conditions when we saw Mark appear from the cloudy horizon. Looking like he had spent the night rocking to some DJ playing in Golden, with only a couple of hours of sleep but with a keen attitude as always, we continued our search for good skiing.

Connaught Creek was quiet, not many skiers to be seen but a couple of groups wondering around. With a quick skin and boot pack to the top of Cheops 5 we were looking down the STS couloir. Conor roped up and chopped a big chunk of cornice so we could all ski in easily and enjoy this long intimidating run. It was a repeat for some of us and this time around was a rather enjoyable thrilling descent for moi.

By that point the weather had cleared and the sun was shining in and out, bringing the temperatures significantly higher every time. We had some eats at the bottom, the day still early with lots of light left. It didn’t take us much to decide on going back for one more, seeing that the group that had been up top had not ski any lines down the main open bowl.

Jeff and I chose to explore the nose of it while Conor and Mark skinned a bit further to drop in the higher “door”. Tracy had decided against coming back up but was happy to wait in the sunshine or at the pass. We realized pretty quick how hollow the snow and how thin the coverage was on that nose so we waited for those guys to drop in and take some pictures. What a fast, enjoyable run that was. We chose a different exit and caught up with the boys right before spring skiing some more corn on our way out.

We were greeted by Tracy’s beautiful smile and great persona, thinking back on how awesome this day of skiing had been. But the fun wasn’t over yet as we met friends that were having a Cuba slide show from their 3-month trip at the end of 2010. Mojitos and lots of laughter were on the menu for most of the night, and for others salsa dancing lessons were just the beginning of the night.

Feeling under the weather a bit today, I will recover and then Jeff and I are headed to Golden for course setting and some fun races. Everyone is welcome to join, the more the merrier!!

ciao ciao ciao

ciao

]]>https://skimostoke.wordpress.com/2011/03/24/cheops-2/feed/1noshowmatteauMt. Sifton North Facehttps://skimostoke.wordpress.com/2011/03/21/mt-sifton-north-face/
https://skimostoke.wordpress.com/2011/03/21/mt-sifton-north-face/#respondMon, 21 Mar 2011 23:15:58 +0000http://skimostoke.com/?p=428]]>This winter has been, well, epic. With the consistent snowfall since December, lots of things are filled in, and recent bits of storm snow followed by milder temps are allowing things to settle out. Talking with Ian Gale we made plans to meet up at Rogers pass with goals to ski off the North face of something high and alpine. Mark and Tina were also keen, and we made plans to hit the parking area just as the permits opened

Heading up into the Hermit zone, things were looking pretty white. The crust on the southern aspects was very prominent, and we figured our best bet of keeping a low-vis option was to head towards Sifton as opposed to the Swiss Glacier. As the day progressed, the variable cloud meant some beautiful light and some opportunities to push higher up.

“It’d be pretty nice to be standing on top of Ursus Minor right now”, I said looking towards it’s North face from the Sifton-Little Sifton col.

“How about standing on top of Sifton”, Mark replied, motioning up the ridge.

We discussed the options for ascent/descent and started working our way up. After a bootpack and short descent, we wrapped around through the North-West basin and were soon on the North ridge making our way to the summit. Once on top, we did a couple of roped up ski-cuts, and then it was time to drop in.

The surface snow was sluffing fast and as Mark rode the upper steep section, some substantial sluffs raced down the face through the choke and out to the fan below. Ian followed Mark through the centre line, while Tina, Julie and myself worked our way skiers right to meet up with them at the bottom. An amazing 3000 ft line in great snow and great light, one to remember.

We climbed back up a steep snow slope to the North ridge and crossed the North-West glacier to return via our line of ascent. Surprise, surprise, Hartley opted to recycle the uptrack and return to the summit to shred back down the south-face of Sifton, MANIMAL!

Thanks to Julie, Mark, Tina and Ian for an awesome day in the mountains and a great start to my spring break…here’s hoping for a great week!